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Day 345 or December the 11th. Do the right thing.

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Our thoughts today come from Titus chapter 2

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verse 7 and Philemon verse 17. In everything

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set them an example by doing what is good. In

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your teaching show integrity and seriousness.

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So if you consider me a partner, welcome him

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as you would welcome me. First, the big picture

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surrounding these two verses. Paul writes to

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two early believers, one in Crete and the other

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an escaped slave called Onesimus, who has run

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away from his master in Colossae and finds Christ

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in Rome. Titus was the leader of the church in

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Crete and is mentioned in several of the letters

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in the New Testament. Crete was a place renowned

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for its untruthfulness and immorality, and to

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be a Cretan or Cretan was some burden to bear

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for a respectable inhabitant of that beautiful

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island. Even today we use a similar word to describe

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a very stupid person. Paul concentrates on teaching

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Titus how important it is to say the right things

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and do the right things, no matter what is going

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on around you. In addition, in his letter to

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Philemon, who was not mentioned anywhere else

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in the Bible, Paul pleads on behalf of a slave

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called Onesimus, who is now a believer, that

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Philemon treats him as a brother and not as a

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criminal. And finally our action step for today.

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Titus is surrounded by bad examples, and Paul

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encourages him to be a good example. What a lesson

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for us to learn and master, not to let others

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determine what we do, but to act according to

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our own beliefs, rather than under pressure from

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others. Similarly, Philemon is challenged to

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do the right thing, and treat his runaway slave,

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Onesimus, just the same as if he was Paul himself.

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Treating everyone lovingly is very difficult,

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but as Jesus loves everyone the same, and died

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for everyone too, we have no choice in the matter.

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That's why it's a commandment to love each other.

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Try always to see the good in others, and show

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them the good that's in you, and it may get easier.